Agonic Barça

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The thread of life of Barça in the Champions League is still timidly detected at the Camp Nou after the dying step of Dinamo Kiev. The game was one of survival rather than one of Barcelona’s affirmation on a day that did not admit any other result than victory after the defeats against Bayern and Benfica. The Catalans do not play or compete, but they participate and attest to their lives until the competition says enough in any of the fields of Europe.

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Ter Stegen, Clement Lenglet, Óscar Mingueza (Coutinho, min. 45), Alba, Piqué, Pablo Páez Gavira (Sergi Roberto, min. 68), Frenkie De Jong, Busquets, Depay (Agüero, min. 74), Luuk de Jong (Ansu Fati, min. 45) and Sergiño Dest

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Bushchan, Mykolenko, Oleksandr Syrota, Kedziora (Tymchyk, min. 77), Illia Zabarnyi, Shaparenko, Tsygankov (Karavaev, min. 84), S. Sydorchuk, Carlos De Pena (Vitinho, min. 60), Buyalsky (Eric Ramírez, min. 84) y Vladyslav Supriaha (Garmash, min. 60)

Goals 1-0 min. 35: I hammered.

Arbitro Clément Turpin

Yellow cards Frenkie De Jong (min. 89)

It is not easy to decipher Dynamo Kiev. Although young and maybe even a naive point, it is also an ambitious and uncomplexed team, willing to run the risk of being hurt for having aspired to claim victory, even in the most luxurious stages of the Champions League. The Ukraine leader fell five goals in Munich after denying Benfica in Kiev. A service record in the end better than that of Barça. It is no longer known which rival is accessible for the Catalans in the emblematic European Cup.

Barcelona was pressing the condition of bottom and, in addition, had been trapped by injuries and sanctions, also conditioned by the visit on Sunday from Madrid. The calendar and the physical precariousness of the squad surely influenced the line-up arranged by Koeman. Luuk de Jong played and Ansu Fati rested. A change that did not exactly help lift the spirits of the few fans gathered at the Camp Nou. Disaffection does not wane at Barça.

The hour was bad, the game arrived on an unfavorable day, the field factor did not influence, the rival bothered more than it helped and the starting eleven did not invite optimism because in the absence of a reliable defense it did not present the best forward due to the absence of Ansu, the idol who will renew after loading with the team, with the club and with the 10. The team was willing for Dest and Alba to put centers as wingers for De Jong and not for Dest to finish off the Memphis passes.

Most of the plays ended in Dest and the unchecks were thrown by Busquets. Despite the disorder, the Catalans had a good rhythm to attack and also to retreat before the transitions of Zabarnyi, Sydorchuk, Shaparenko and Tsygankov. The pressure, however, was not synchronized and effective, permeable to Dinamo’s passes behind the backs of Piqué and Lenglet. The recurring tactical fouls then became Barça’s best resource.

The game, in any case, was at the mercy of Barça’s shots. The forwards, however, headed badly and when De Jong was right then the goalkeeper appeared, luckily for a dominated and expectant Dinamo, a spectator at the Camp Nou. The Barcelona despair was contagious, the footballers became as impatient as the fans and Koeman started to warm up Ansu and Coutinho when the whistles were already heard more than the applause, the anger centered on Luuk De Jong.

The hard-working Barça football lacked audacity not to mention risk, too cold and shallow, to the point that the footballers came out more than they entered the area, allergic to hand-in-hand, only pending on Alba’s lateral centers. Before the resignation of the forwards, a center-back like Piqué appeared to finally catch the pass from the side to the far post after a corner kick and put it 1-0. The dribbling and cheekiness appeared for a moment after the break with the entry of Ansu and Coutinho.

The play of the match

Ansu starred in the play of the match after stealing the ball and an unnecessary Chilean shot because the play demanded the assistance for Coutinho. Frivolity unsettled and weakened Barça. The team became dislodged and prompted a response from Dynamo Kiev. No one understood what Koeman was up to. The changes of drawing and players disoriented the Catalans, confused in attack, repetitive in the losses of the ball in the spinal cord and exposed in defense despite the innocence of Dynamo Kiev. The ball belonged to Lucescu’s team and fouls followed one another on the Barça court. However, not a single auction by Lucescu’s team was counted.

Restlessness returned and the whistles reappeared, unrecognizable as the chaotic Barça was. The Catalans clung badly to Piqué’s goal as proof of life while the fans gathered saddened by the disconcerting behavior of Koeman’s squad. On Sunday Madrid arrives and it will be difficult to fill the Camp Nou. Today there are plenty of tickets to see Barça.

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